The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
Centrifugal Pendulum Vibration Absorbers (CPVAs) are typically used to reduce torsional vibrations in rotating machine components. For example, a rotating member such as a shaft includes several CPVAs, where each CPVA has a pendulum mass that oscillates as the shaft operates. The movement of the pendulum masses counteract torque fluctuations that are created as the shaft operates, which reduces the torsional vibration of the shaft. CPVAs can be designed such that the oscillation frequency of the pendulum mass matches the engine combustion frequency at any engine operating speed. The path of the center of mass of the pendulum has significant effect on the performance of a CPVA. Existing paths are typically circular or cycloidal.
While current CPVAs achieve their intended purpose, there is room in the art to provide a CPVA having a pendulum mass path that is stable during rapid engine speed changes and that provides maximum vibration reduction.